Short film (8 mins), part of Five Short Films against Homophobia
Synopsis
Pauline is about young woman and her coming out experiences.
Five Short Films against Homophobia , produced for Canal +, are directed by talented young French talents such as Céline Sciamma, Rodolphe Marconi and performed by Raphaël Personnaz, Félix Moati, Anaïs Demoustier and so on. The project was supported by the French Ministry of Education & Sports and the National Institute for Prevention & Health Education.
Pauline is one of five short films created as part of'Young and Gay and Under the Gaze of Others'project (it probably sounds better in French!). This was a competition organized by the French Ministry of Health & Sports. The goal of the project was to change representations of homosexuality and to encourage reflection on the consequences of homophobia. Entries into the competition were tasked to "Tell, in a positive way, a situation where a young homosexual is confronted with the gaze of others". 905 proposals were submitted. The jury that selected the winning entries was chaired by the legendary French director André Téchiné, and Céline Sciamma was a member of the jury.Only four films were initially planned to be made, but in addition to the four screenplays that were selected, the screenplay for La Renaissance was awarded a 'special mention'. It was the only film that dealt with lesbians.
The screenplay La Renaissance by Daphné Charbonneau became the short film Pauline and was directed by Céline Sciamma. Pauline features actress Anaïs Demousitier (who was a César Révélation in 2008 along with Adèle and who won the 2020 César for Best Actress), with a cameo appearance by Adéle Haenel.The film is a gentle recounting of a young woman's realization of her attraction to girls / women and the trials that she faced on her journey to acceptance.
In accordance with the competition rules, the selected screenplays were adapted and then produced under the supervision of Téchiné in the form of short films. These short films were broadcast on Canal + group channels and in Utopia cinemas.
As far as I can see, this is the only film that Céline has directed for which she did not write the screenplay.
André Téchiné is a legend of French filmmaking and who chaired the jury panel,
directed Adéle in L'Homme Que L'on Aimait Trop in 2014, and who co-wrote the screenplay for Quand on a 17 ans (Being 17, 2016) with Céline Sciamma.
About Five Short Films Against Homophobia
The five short films were published on a DVD that was accompanied by a 58pp booklet ( OCLC 758352067 ) and was provided for education professionals as an intervention tool against homophobia.
The other films made as part of the Five Short Films Against Homophobia project are:
The incredible adventures of Fusion Man by Xavier Gens
Céline’s roles: Screenwriter, Director, & Actor (& costume designer; uncredited)
English Title
Water Lilies(direct
translation is Birth of the Octopuses)
Year
2007 (Released in France 15 August 2007)
Music
ParaOne, the musical persona of La Fémis buddy, director Jean-Baptiste
de Laubier.
Editing
Julien Lacheray
Cinematography
Crystel Fournier
"Naissance des Pieuvres tells above all how one falls
in love."
Céline Sciamma
"The octopus is the physical manifestation of the emerging
feelings of adolescence, this monster of desire and jealousy in the hollow of
the belly when we awaken to desire, to sexuality, when we start to fall in love,"
explains Céline Sciamma in introducing the screening at the Royal Utopia in
Pontoise.
“At this age,
all desires are unfulfilled or unliveable."
Synopsis
Summer when you're 15. Nothing to do except look at the
ceiling. They are three: Marie, Anne, Floriane. In the secret of the locker
room their destinies intersect, and desire arises.
If the first times are unforgettable it is because they
have no laws.
Honours/Awards
Before the film was made, the screenplay was awarded the 2006
Prix Junior du Meilleur Scénario (PJMS) (Junior Prize for Best Screenplay), which
is open to filmmakers younger than 28 years.
Awards
& Honours for the film
Awards
Prix Louis Deluc Du Meilleur Premier Film (Louis Delluc Prize for Best First Film)
Cabourg Film Festival – Youth Jury Prize
Awards Nominations
Caméra d'Or (2007 Cannes Film Festival)
César Award for Best First Feature Film
Adèle Haenel: César Best New Female
Louise Blachère: César Best New Female
Selected for the following
Film Festivals (& probably more...)
Sélection Officielle Festival Cannes 2008 Un Certain Regard (Selected for screening at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival – Un Certain Regard section)
Selection, The Alliance Française French Film Festival (Australia) (Australia, 2008)
Selection, Singapore French Film Festival (Singapore, 2009) [Feature films]
Selection, French Cinepanorama (Hong-Kong, 2008) [First films]
Selection, Kyiv Molodist International Film Festival (Ukraine, 2008)
Selection, French Cinema Today
Selection, Bangkok French Film Festival (Thailand, 2008)
Selection, San Francisco International Film Festival (United States, 2008)
Selection, CoLCoA French Film Festival (United States, 2008) [Feature films selection]
Selection, Bratislava Francophone Film Festival (Slovakia, 2008)
Selection, New York - New Directors New Films (United States, 2008) [Selected French Films]
Selection, French Film Festival in Japan (Japan, 2008)
Selection, Rotterdam International Film Festival (IFFR) (Netherlands, 2008) [Official Feature Film Selection]
Selection, Turin Film Festival (TFF) (Italy, 2007) [Official Selection - Feature Films]
Selection, Tübingen International Francophone Film Festival, Stuttgart (Germany, 2007) [International competition]
Selection, Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival (Brazil, 2007) [Gay section]
Excerpts from reviews
“With
terrific poise and the crispest, cleanest cinematography imaginable, the
27-year-old French director Céline Sciamma has given us a very provocative and
stylish drama set in the world of teenage girls' synchronised swimming…”
The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/mar/14/worldcinema.drama
“Directed by 27-year old Celine Sciamma in an
astounding feature debut, “Naissance” is precise, uncluttered and (despite the
subject matter) very disciplined. There’s nothing extraneous about the visuals
or sentimental about the story. The texture of the film has something of
legendary Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu and his measured, less-is-more
aesthetic — though the content is worlds apart.
Japan Times
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2008/07/04/films/film-reviews/naissance-des-pieuvres/
“A writing and directing debut for Céline
Sciamma, this marks her as a talent to watch. Unflinching in its portrayal of
complex psychosexual territory, it immediately calls to mind the work of Michael Haneke. This is a beautiful film, never less than
convincing. Technically it is a masterwork, visually splendid with excellent
sound work. The underwater sequences are handled with a particular subtlety as
are those in nightclubs and bedrooms.
…
Water Lilies is sophisticated, literary, and
totally deserving of the awards attention it has received. Like synchronised
swimming it is technically demanding, almost exclusively female, and worth
watching for the effort and turmoil below the surface.”
“…Handling the drama with quiet
assurance, Sciamma teases two incredibly expressive performances from her young
cast: Haenel is like a Parisian Scarlett Johansson—all pouting poses and teasing come
on—while Acquart
throws a never-ending barrage of long, loving looks in her direction.”
BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2008/03/10/water_lilies_2008_review.shtml
“Newly graduated from Femis, Celine
Sciamma made Naissance des Pieuvres her very first film essay, an
end-of-study project by a filmmaker who has since become essential in the
French landscape. Everything about this first excursion behind the camera
exudes exercise in style.
…
...Naissance des Pieuvresis the first milestone of a filmmaker who will
gradually assert her gaze, tone and voice....”
Le Bleu du Miroir http://www.lebleudumiroir.fr/critique-naissance-des-pieuvres/
(translated by Google)
Comments
This is
the first film that Céline Sciamma directed—and it is a feature
film! This is unusual, as most directors develop their skills while making a number of short films, rather than on a feature film. After completing a Masters in
literature and working in marketing for a while, Céline Sciamma studied
scriptwriting at the premiere institution for filmmaking in France—La Fémis.
The screenplay for Naissance des
Pieuvres was Céline’s graduation project and the chair of the examination
panel, director & actor Xavier Beauvois (who plays the role of Jacques, a
patron at the brothel in the film L’Apollonide: Souvenirs de la Maison Close),
encouraged her to make the film and to direct it herself. She worked with
another La Fémis graduate, producer Bénédicte Couvreur, to source funding and
within a year of graduation she was directing her first feature film. The film
had a budget of 2 million Euros. She was 26 when she made this film.
For her first feature film Céline chose to
continue to work with her La Fémis colleagues Jean-Baptiste de Laubier,
who is also a talented musician and wrote the score for the film as ParaOne, and
editor Julien Lacheray. This team had worked together through their student
days—and they continue to work together until today.
This
film had amazing success, in particular for a director's first film and one
made with non-professional actors—it was shown at the Cannes film festival, it
won an award for best first film award, and two of the young actresses (one of
whom was not a professional actor) were nominated for best new talent at the
César awards, which is a reflection of the quality of the direction. It was screened at film festivals across the world.
The
film was nominated for, though it did not win, the 'Best First Film' award at
the César awards. Something, perhaps better, happened that night. The legendary
Jeanne Moreau was given an honorary César to mark 60 years of her contributions
to the French film industry. She then chose to give this award to Céline
Sciamma, as a symbol of passing the torch of film making to this young film
maker who had just completed her first film. This was a profound honour from an
icon of French Cinema.
JM: "It's an honorary
Caesar so I'm going to entrust it. The first film has already received a Cesar
and I would like Celine Sciamma to come here with her young team. Come quickly,
we're in a hurry. Come on. So you take care of it and pass it on from year to
year. Okay? Goodbye.")
Para One & Céline Sciamma
The music for the film is written & performed by the artist known as
Para One. This is Jean-Baptiste de Laubier,
who was at La Fémis with Céline. Jean-Baptiste was in the
Director's stream, while Céline was in the Scriptwriting stream. While students
together Jean-Baptiste directed three films that Céline wrote the screenplay
for— En attendant la neige (2003), Les Premier Communions (2004),
and Cache ta joie (2006).
The soundtrack is available on
CD. The music is both relaxing and hypnotic and listening to it separate to the
film is a good way to appreciate it.
“The score by Jean-Baptiste de Laubier (aka
Para One) is apt, weirdly reminiscent of Vangelis and Eurotechno but still
somehow working. It's vaguely unsettling in its artificiality, a strange blend
that's not quite one thing or another. This general state of
"between" runs through Water Lilies, compounded by its status as a
subtitled international release.”
The movie was filmed over 38 days in late July,
August and early September 2006 in Cergy (Val d'Oise), a town/suburb about 30km
north of central Paris and where Céline grew up. She chose this locale as it is
not 'typically French' and could be a setting in any nameless city in the
world. She also deliberately excluded technologies, such as mobile phones
and computers and used original music, which gives it more of a timeless
feel—it is not anchored in a particular year. Significant is the absence of
adults. This was done so that viewers are required to identify with the girls,
not with a parent/adult.
Cameos
There is
a cameo from Céline as the server in the scene in McDonalds and one from
Christel Baras (casting director) is the 'Inspectrice' who checks the girls'
armpits.
Film Title
The French title
translates to Birth of Octopuses and this refers to the rise
of desire (a theme that Céline has continued in her films) in the girls. Though
a bit cryptic, I think that it's a better title that Water Lilies.
Octopuses make me think of squirming and grasping creatures that are hard to
control. That's a great metaphor for desire. The English-language title is much
more passive—water lillies just seem to float and look pretty…which is not what this
film is about.
Final thoughts
This is
great film, with so many layers. Céline’s talents were evident from the start of
her career and she established her core film making team here in her (and possibly their)
first professional gig—with Jean-Baptiste de Laubier (aka ParaOne) creating original
music for the film and Julien Lacheray editing the film.
